Stockton Police have a new tool to fight crime. It’s name is SPOT, which is short for Stockton Police Observation Truck.

Take an armored vehicle, equip it with eight cameras, and park it in a high-crime neighborhood.

SPOT is like Big Brother watching, but only in public areas and not into homes.

Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones says in the area of video surveillance, police are already monitoring 200 cameras around town, using drones with cameras, and all officers are equipped with body cameras.

“So, the more video surveillance we have, we think the better we can solve and suppress crime and this is yet another tool that we’ll be able to mobily put wherever we want in the city,” Jones said.

The armored truck and all the equipment were donated to the city.

Jones says it’s not always possible to put patrol cars in certain areas, but using the unmanned SPOT can deter crime and come up with the evidence.

As the Central Valley correspondent, Rich Ibarra covers San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced counties, along with the foothill areas including Tuolumne and Calaveras counties. He covers politics, the economy and issues affecting the region. Read Full Bio